Wakilii

Opolot Justine v Aura (Misc. Aplic. No. 79 of 2014)

High Court · [2016] UGHCLD 9 · 2016 Appeal Partly Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application challenging taxation of costs following unsuccessful appeal from magistrate's land claim decision
Decision
Bill of costs reduced from 14,669,500 to 13,569,000 shillings

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

On appeal from taxation of costs in a land claim matter, the High Court reduced court attendance fees from 150,000 to 100,000 shillings per appearance, struck out two attendances not supported by the court record and one duplicate entry, but upheld instruction fees of 6,000,000 shillings as reasonable given the nature of the land dispute. The taxed bill was reduced from 14,669,500 to 13,569,000 shillings.

Outcome

Bill of costs reduced from 14,669,500 to 13,569,000 shillings

Facts

The underlying land claim was determined by the Chief Magistrate on 3 July 2006. An appeal to the High Court in HCCA No. 29 of 2009 was dismissed with costs to the respondent Aura Livingstone. The respondent's bill of costs for the trial court was taxed by the Acting Assistant Registrar at 14,669,500 shillings on 21 November 2014. The applicant Opolot Justine challenged this taxation, contending that counsel for the respondent did not attend court on several dates claimed and that instruction fees of 6,000,000 shillings were excessive. The court lacked taxation proceedings or a ruling explaining the taxing officer's reasoning.

Issues

  1. Whether the taxed bill of costs at 14,669,500 shillings was reasonable.
  2. Whether items for court attendance where counsel allegedly did not attend should be allowed.
  3. Whether instruction fees of 6,000,000 shillings were excessive.

Orders

  • Court attendance fees reduced to 100,000 shillings per item.
  • Items for court attendance on 8.6.2006 and 6.12.2006 struck out.
  • One duplicated attendance on 29.6.2009 struck out.
  • Item 2 on the bill disallowed as covered by item 3.
  • Bill of costs reduced by 1,100,000 shillings (950,000 for attendance reduction plus 150,000 for item 2).
  • Bill allowed at 13,569,000 shillings.

Rules and key headnotes

Taxation of Costs — Court Attendance Fees — Adjustment for Inflation
Where the Advocates Remuneration and Taxation of Costs Rules prescribe court attendance fees of 50,000 shillings for the first six hours, a court may adjust this sum to account for inflation and the loss in value of currency over time since the rules came into force, with 100,000 shillings being reasonable in 2016.
Taxation of Costs — Court Attendance — Burden of Proof
On appeal from taxation, court attendance items must be supported by the court record; items for attendances not reflected in the typed court record will be struck out.
Taxation of Costs — Instruction Fees — Reasonableness Assessment
Instruction fees of 6,000,000 shillings may be reasonable in a land claim within a municipality where various documents required analysis and the case involved substantial preparation and research.

Legislation cited (1)

  • Advocates Remuneration and Taxation of Costs Rules, 6th Schedule r.5(h)(ii)

Full judgment

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Opolot Justine v Aura (Misc. Aplic. No. 79 of 2014) [2016] UGHCLD 9 (8 August 2016)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.